No Longer Just A Shadow
by ChangingDestiny'sDesign
Summary: He has loved her for 10 years but never thought she could return his affections.  After all, he is nothing but a shadow in her eyes.  Is it possible, after all these years, she might love him back?  OneShot


**I don't own Naruto nor and of the Characters in it. **

He watched from the shadows in a tree as she walked home, tired and worn like always. He knew it was wrong to follow her everywhere but it was the only way to be with her so he followed her in the shadows. He had loved her since their days at the academy but she had never even given him a second glance. All he was was a shadow. It had always been about her precious 'Sasuke-kun'. But Sasuke had left and he was left to watch her heart break. Sasuke had never paid her attention, never cared and yet, he was willing to do that and so much more but he was still invisible in her eyes.

If only he could take her pain away. If only he could show her she wasn't alone, that he was there. He had been in love with her since he was 8 and yet, here he was, 10 years later and in the same position he had been then. He had never told anyone besides his parents and his sensei. Asuma had always been encouraging, telling him to give her time and one day, he would realize it was the right time to tell her and things would work out from there. Problem was, that day never seemed to come.

While he was thinking about all this, he hadn't noticed that she had sat down on the branch beside him. She watched intently as his face flashed emotion after emotion until it finally settled on confused and sad.

"What are you thinking about?" Sakura asked, shocking the shadow user out of his contemplation.

"Sakura! When did you get here?" Shikamaru asked, completely confuse how he had let his guard down the much.

"Well, I was on my way home when I felt your chakra slowly unmasking and thought I would see if you were ok."

"My chakra was coming unmasked? I didn't realized I had slipped that deep into thought."

"Well, you had. What were you thinking about?" She asked, genuinely curious now.

"Um, nothing. Nothing you would understand." He replied. She could detect an almost sad under toned and was concerned.

"Try me! I might understand better than you know."

He looked into her eyes and saw a mixture of worry, curiosity and something he couldn't quite figure out. '_Why not? If she laughs in my face, I guess I will have my answer. Asuma, you had better have this right moment stuff correct.' _Shikamaru thought to himself.

"You see, there was this girl back at the academy that I fell for. When I say fell, I mean hard and I never got over it. I still care for her but she doesn't even know I'm alive. I know for a fact that she will never return my feelings but I still can't move on." he said, pain evident in his eyes.

"Maybe you should tell her anyway. At least if she turns you down, you will have closure instead of having to question what might have been if you had told her. If anyone knows, it's me. The pain that _he _left me with that night was excruciating but eventually, I got over it and moved on." Sakura said, with a sad note in her voice now.

"What do you mean 'moved on'? I thought you were still in love with him. The way you fight to bring him back can only stem from an emotional attachment as strong as love." Shikamaru asked, confusion evident in his eyes.

"That's true. I do still love him and want to see him come home. However, I don't love him in a romantic way. I love Sasuke in a teammate/brother kind of way. As a fellow shinobi, you should understand the bond that is forged with fellow teammates. When your life depends on someone, it forges something strong. But, I feel the same way about Naruto and can you honestly see me romantic with him?" She said, laughing slightly at the very though of the last part.

"Haha. No, I can't. I have a feeling there would be very few standing structures left within a hundred mile of your house if that was the case!" Shikamaru replied, laughing at the images going through his head.

"Precisely! I think it is only fair to the human race that I leave him to Hinata to train!" Sakura replied laughing.

"Very wise." Shikamaru added.

They sat in a comfortable silence for quite a while before Sakura final spoke again. "So, are you going to tell me the name of this girl?" She asked, almost meekly.

"Only if you tell me the secret to moving on." Shikamaru replied, the fear of rejection swelling in him once again.

"Ok. I suppose, for a long time, I just threw myself completely into my studies. It was a long time before I even looked at a guy with interest. That is until the day one guy caught my eye but I never said anything. I suppose I was afraid of rejection again. I still am really….." Sakura explained.

"Who was this guy?" Shikamaru asked, feeling his heart drop.

"Well, he is one of the rookie 11 but I'm not saying who exactly. But, it's your turn now. I kept my end of the bargain." Sakura replied, almost nervously.

"So it is." Shikamaru replied with fear and nervousness shining in his eyes. "You have to promise me one thing first."

"Ok Shika, anything." Sakura replied, making Shikamaru smile at the sudden nickname.

"You have to promise me not to run when I tell you. It would be such a drag to try and chase you down." He said, looking at her hopefully.

"Of course. I will stay right here until you say." Sakura replied, trying to sound reassuring.

"Here I am, considered on of the smartest men in Konoha, and I don't know how to say this. Troublesome as it is, Sakura, it's you. It always has been and always will be. I have been in love with you since I was 8 but never had the nerve to tell you. I wanted to so many times but you were always so wrapped up in Sasuke, I never thought I would have a chance. Do you have any idea how angry I would get thinking about that fool being the one you loved and him thinking nothing of it? He could have cared less while I would have given my life for you to just give me a chance. You have no idea how hard I have tried to move on but I never could. You were always there, in my mind, and I could only love you from afar. Life is so troublesome." Shikamaru said, looking her straight in the eyes.

He could see her eyes fill with tears and leaned forward to comfort her. "Troublesome woman. Please don't cry. I didn't mean to upset you. I was just tried to be-" before her could finish, he was interrupted by her lips on his. He pulled her onto his lap, kissing her back gently. He could feel her hands in his hair while he found himself holding her face in his hands. At that moment, the world seemed to cease turning, everything seemed to freeze, not existed besides the two of them.

All to soon, Sakura pulled away but only a few inches. They stayed there, foreheads against forehead, staring in each other's eyes. Neither knew what to say and at that moment, it really didn't matter.

Sakura was the first to break the silence however, knowing exactly what to say. "Shika-kun, I love you so much. I use to think how I felt about Sasuke was love but it wasn't. It was simply infatuation. I realized years ago that true love is different. It is when you know that no matter what happens, they will always be there for you, by your side. I knew what I started to feel for you years ago was something more than friendship but I was too scared to act on it. I'm so sorry I put you though so much. I can't make up for the past, but I can change the future. I truly, irrevocably love you and always will." Sakura said with more passion in her voice than she knew was possible.

"Sakura, I love you too. More than you will ever understand. One thing I know, life will never be a drag with you. You are too troublesome for that." Shika replied, laughing, tears of relief slowly welling up in his eyes.

….

As he sat in the living room of his house, holding his first child, watching a recently pregnant Sakura sleep peacefully on the couch, he couldn't help but think back to that day 3 years ago. He never thought that any of this was possible but he couldn't help but be thankful it was.

Eight months after that day in the tree, they were married and bought a house of their own. Only a year later Sakura announced her pregnancy. Nine months later, his son was born. He was perfect. The baby had his eyes and undoubtably the Nara male temperament as he slept most of the time and often complained. He was exceptionally gratefully the child had red hair and not pink however. Ten months after that, Sakura told him she was pregnant once again, much to their surprise. He supposed waiting for another wasn't going to happen now but he really didn't mind. Maybe it would be a pink haired daughter, just as much of a firecracker as her mom. He dreaded the day he would have to chase off boys because it would be very troublesome but he wouldn't mind a little girl looking up to him like a king and her being his little princess.

It may have been a painful wait, but he would do it all over again. Because, what he got in return, was worth the price.

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End file.
